Doing It With SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), Part 1
September 6, 1999
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This month1 we focus on an exciting new graphics standard from
the W3C called
Scalable Vector Graphics.
SVG is positioned to have a major impact on Web graphics
because it enables resolution independent graphic rendering
either from static text files or when generated from databases,
and because it leverages many of the useful features of
the XML family of specifications.
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Important Usage Notes
At the time of this writing (late August 1999),
Web browsers cannot yet display SVG.
(This is likely to change in the fall.)
Therefore, to experiment with SVG today, you'll
need one or more of the SVG viewers
described in the article.
The SVG viewers require Java external to your
browser, either as the JDK (Java Development Kit)
or the JRE (Java Runtime Environment), both of which are
available from
this JavaSoft Products page.
You will also need
XML parsers,
one from IBM and the other from JavaSoft to run the viewers.
(Specific links appear on the appropriate pages.)
We've tried to make the setup easy for those of you running
Windows by including .bat files
in which you'll only have to change a few constants to
point to your Java and XML parser installation.
Keep in mind that the name of this article is
"Doing it With SVG".
It is designed to be interactive. You'll learn a great deal
more by trying out each of the things that are suggested,
even if it means downloading and installing Java, XML parsers
and SVG viewers. (Plan to spend about 3-4 hours more than your
normal reading time for these extra-curricular activities.)
We recommend that you download our
examples in svg1.zip (approx. 1.1 MB)
so you can experiment on your own.
However, if your time is more limited,
there are ample screenshot links in the article
that will give you a good idea of how SVG looks and works
without downloading or installing anything.
But then you won't be "Doing It With SVG",
you'll be "Viewing It".
Depending upon the extent of your XML background, you may find it useful to read
the following articles and tutorials before reading the current article.
1.
In my earlier
XML articles,
we've explored how XML is ideal for
representing structured data,
we've examined the role of XML in the
big picture
of the W3C standardization efforts, we've identified a number of
XML software products, and
we've seen how
XML and Java
make a "perfect pair".
In
Doing It With XML, Part 1,
we took an XML document instance and generated a DTD,
discussed the relative merits of using elements vs. attributes,
saw how to associate the DTD with the XML document,
learned how to view XML with Internet explorer 5 (with or
without the DTD), considered several validation issues, and
also took the W3C browser Amaya for a quick spin.
In
Doing It With XML, Part 2,
we focused on several inexpensive tools for editing XML:
XML Pro, XML Spy, Xeena, and XML EditorMaker, and how
to use
CSS (cascading Style Sheets)
or
XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language)
to control both the presentation and processing of your XML
(especially in IE 5).
Not Just Another Pretty Graphics Standard
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